PHOTO BLOG: Tell it to the world

The high school dropout rate in Romania is unacceptable. According to a Romanian Ministry of Education report from 2009, 25 percent of teens in rural Romania do not attend high school.

Recently, a group of nine youth, six of them sponsored, were invited to participate in a photography workshop. The children learned the basics of photography and then were loaned cameras to take pictures highlighting the problem of school dropout rates in their community.

Their photos were used to create a local photo exhibition to raise awareness about the importance of education in their community. The show was called "Tell it to the World!" Here are some of their photos.

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A boy works on his studies. World Vision's goal in Romania, and across the globe, is to keep children in school, recognizing that education is key to escaping from poverty. Photo by Alex Pintilii.

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This girl must do her homework outside during daylight hours. When you have no electricity in your house, you have to compromise. Photo by Catalin Farama.

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Children like this Romanian girl have the opportunity to experience a bright, hopeful future. The main obstacle to that in her case? Lack of education. Photo by Catalin Farama.

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Who is looking out for these school-aged children? Photo by David Apetrii.

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This child's melancholy demeanor is reflective of many Romanian children who are forced to drop out of school because of poverty. Photo by Madalin Zaharia.

I do not know how do you empower them to study. It should be difficult. May be expressing them the way you obtained a degree, the challenges faced and that you are there helping them. At the same time they could help others to stop drop out.
Sometimes it works with me when I used to work with poor children because I went through it too.

Thank you World Vision for believing in these children...most of them are a victim of circumstance. Education is a key to helping them find a way out of poverty, thank you for recognizing this and making a way for them to understand the importance of their education.

Its worse in America my friends. 1 in 3 students don't graduate high school. That was 1.3 million in 2010. That was 7000 students every school day and 5 a min. What's worse is that 2 out of 3 don't graduate ready for college. Please visit all4ed.org to verify my numbers! I'm not making this up! This is a huge source of poverty in America and a great opportunity for the Church! It's what I've dedicated the next 5 years to serve.

That's a great reminder that we do need to help those in America too. Check out our U.S. Programs work (http://www.worldvisionusprograms.org/) if you're interested in what World Vision is doing here at "home." -Jonathan, WV staff

@Jonathan; those numbers are shocking! Thank you for dedicating the next 5 years - in order to make a change. Bless you...and may MANY be encouraged. I believe they will. Pray for me as I start a summer reading program through the local elementary school. We all have work to do.
Glory to God.